Spatial Calligraphy: Line, Space, Overlap, Continuous and Uncontinuous, 2 sets of 5 screens - Black in White

teamLab, 2016, Digital Installation, 3 min (loop)

Spatial Calligraphy: Line, Space, Overlap, Continuous and Uncontinuous, 2 sets of 5 screens - Black in White

teamLab, 2016, Digital Installation, 3 min (loop)

teamLab has been working on the Spatial Calligraphy series for over ten years. Spatial Calligraphy is a new interpretation of traditional calligraphy. It reconstructs Japanese calligraphy in 3-D space and expresses the depth, speed, and power of the brushstroke.

In premodern Japan, depth was constructed without linear perspective , not just in painting, but in actual space itself. In the gardens of France's Palace of Versailles, trees of the same species and height are planted at regular, uniform intervals. A continuous sense of depth in the garden is created by the way in which identical trees systematically appear smaller as one looks to the horizon. Conversely, at the gardens at the Shugakuin Rikyu Imperial Villa in Japan, the scenery consists of a foreground, middleground, and background, and a sense of depth is achieved by layering.

For this artwork teamLab expresses Japanese calligraphy in a variety of spaces, then brings these spaces together in a single exhibition area. It is an experimental work to explore what experiences can be created when the spaces where the calligraphy is drawn and the larger area where it is exhibited relate to each other.